House GOP slashes university operational funding, penalizes U of M and MSU for large endowments

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2 days ago

University of Michigan students walking near the Diag on Oct. 3, 2022 | Ken Coleman
Cuts to DEI programming, slashed operational funding for the state's most prestigious universities with large endowments and penalties for race-based admission systems were among the items proposed in higher education budgets advanced by Michigan House Republicans on Wednesday.
The GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday reported its version of the school aid budget for K-12 schools, universities, community colleges, the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential.
House Republicans set university funding at $2.4 billion with $461.3 million coming from the state's general fund, which would be an overall increase of $76.4 million or 3.3%. However, overall funding for university operations would see a decrease of $828.1 million.
State Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton), chair of the committee, said Republicans were trying to support Michigan high school graduates as they transition to adult life and encourage them to stay in the state to attend one of several public universities.
State Rep. Gregg Markkanen (R-Hancock), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and Community Colleges, said in a statement issued after the bills were reported that the budget corrected the imbalance of the state funding poured into Michigan State University and the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus.
'Michigan's largest universities have been getting way more than their fair share for far too long,' Markkanen said. 'Our plan sets things right by trimming the fat off MSU and U of M and distributing that funding amongst our 13 other remarkable universities.'
But, much like its counterpart in the K-12 budget, the university budget has a series of cuts to operational grants and aims to restrict university diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The budget raised questions for universities who stand to see their funding reduced if they do not obey certain requirements spelled out in boilerplate language, and the inconsistency of billions in one-time funding without a plan for years later.
Universities with an endowment fund between $1 billion and $5 billion would lose 50% of those funds, impacting Michigan State University, in particular. Those with endowments of $5 billion to $10 billion would lose 65% of their funds, and universities with endowments of $10 billion would lose 75% of their funds, which would affect the University of Michigan.
The sum total of campus investment funds, support payments and ending tuition waiver payments would be subject to a 31% cap on increases above what was appropriated to universities last year. When paired with estimated new Michigan Achievement Scholarship payments, the appropriations to universities would be conditioned on holding back undergraduate tuition and fee increases to 3% or $489, whichever is greater. Projected funding decreases in that case could range from 5.1% to 91.6%.
New boilerplate language would require universities to report on information related to the current university president, provide a list of the number of out-of-state students by state origin, provide a list of the number of international students categorized by citizenship, certify that all enrolled students are lawful residents, and provide the contact information of students who are not lawful residents to the director of Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential.
Universities would have 5% of their campus investment funds withheld for disobeying those requirements, the same penalty if they allow transgender women to participate in women's sports.
Vamping on a theme, the House also added language that restricts public universities from having any common area spaces that are restricted by sex or race, and restricts institutions from having any public ceremonies or gatherings restricted by sex or race and authorizes the state budget director to withhold 5% of monthly campus investment funds payments until an institution complies.
The House plan also mandates universities abide by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that held Harvard University's limited race-based affirmative action program violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Michigan House Republicans' university budget includes language that states 25% of campus investment funds would be taken from any institution that violates the court's holding.
State Rep. Matt Madodock (R-Milford) extolled the budget as making cuts to the 'woke' universities and giving the money to 'non-woke' universities.
In an interview with Michigan Advance, Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities, said the association was still analyzing the budget, but said it was 'certainly comprehensive in its approach to reframing how the state funds its public universities and the students they enroll.'
'There are a lot of provisions that are not minor in their potential impact on allocations to universities and their long-term implications,' Hurley said.
Hurley noted as Markkanen did during the committee that attention will now go toward negotiating with the House, Senate and the governor's office. He said the goal was, as a set of 15 public universities, to improve and to allow students the ability to afford a university degree.
'I think the litmus test on a final budget is how it will affect the universities' abilities to produce a talent pipeline that the state desperately needs at this moment,' Hurley said.
One of his top-line observations is the more than a billion dollars in one-time funding monies to support the overall budget framework. As huge enterprises that have been around for hundreds of years, Hurley said they need predicability and sustainability.
'We need to have a much better understanding of what the thinking is, what the plan is to maintain a healthy, vibrant public university ecosystem,' Hurley said. 'In year two, in year three and year four down the road. To me, that is not clear at the moment.'
Bollin said the House was providing a roughly flat investment in higher education, which she said would make universities compete for the students they have. Although the move was characterized during the committee meeting as positively impacting some universities' bottom lines over others, Bollin later said it was a move to support students wherever they end up going to attain a higher education.
When it was noted that the budget changes the way some universities would receive money from the state, Bollin doubled down and said universities will have the same opportunity to receive funding.
'Maybe they ought to mind their budgets just like the rest of us. Everybody's budget is getting tighter,' Bollin said.
Bollin was asked about the DEI cuts and more specifically the language targeting transgender women in women's sports. It was noted that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender were tenants of the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Bollin was asked how the various budgets' boilerplate language were not blatant violations of the state's civil rights law.
Bollin said she didn't see it that way, using language that essentially denies the very nature of transgender individuals.
'Frankly, I want to get away from focusing on those parts in the bill and in our policy statements. We are talking about educating and we want everybody to feel welcome; to come in and get a good education. And, frankly, we don't want to see boys in girls' sports. That's universal. I don't want to go into the restroom with a man,' Bollin said.